Vehicle seat

ABSTRACT

A vehicle seat has a backrest with a vertically adjustable headrest, and a device for warming the nape and head area of a seat occupant with warm air. The device comprises an electric heating unit and an air vent which is arranged in an intermediate space between the backrest and head cushion of the headrest. In order to obtain a warm air heating device which i) is of low overall volume, ii) can be integrated satisfactorily into the seat, iii) is efficient and iv) does not disrupt the esthetics of the vehicle seat and/or of the passenger cell, the electric heating unit, and preferably also a blower, are integrated in the air vent.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This application claims the priority of German patent document 10 2004004 387.6, filed Jan. 29, 2004 (PCT International Application No.01.29.2004), the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated byreference herein.

The invention relates to a vehicle seat.

German patent document DE 100 61 027 A1 discloses a vehicle seat for aconvertible or a roadster, in which an electric heating device and ablower are combined in a housing to form a single component that isarranged underneath the horizontal net of a windbreak which is mountedin the vehicle and is composed of a horizontal and a vertical net. Airthat is sucked in by the blower is heated by the electric heating deviceand fed via a connecting hose to an air vent arranged between the upperside of the backrest and the underside of the head cushion of theheadrest. The warm air is blown out of the air vent directly into thenape and head area of the seat occupant, so that warm air is supplied tothis area even when the vehicle is traveling at high speed. The air ventcontains two sets of pivotable louvers which are arranged one behind theother in the direction of air flow, one set being pivotable about ahorizontal axis and the other being pivotable about a vertical axis, sothat the direction of air outflow out of the air vent can be set.

In a vehicle seat disclosed in German patent document DE 101 60 799 A1,in particular for open motor vehicles, the device for heating the napeand head area of the seat occupant has a warm air blower which isarranged at the rear side of the head cushion and whose pressureconnector ends in the intermediate space between the head cushion of theheadrest and the upper side of the backrest. The pressure connector hasa vent opening which is directed onto the nape and head area of the seatoccupant. Line connectors which end with a vertically extending linesection that has venting openings are connected to the side of thepressure connector. The line sections are connected to the lineconnector by means of a rotary bearing so that the venting direction ofthe warm air can be changed easily by rotating the line sections, andcan be set, for example, to the shoulder area of the seat occupant.

German patent document DE 196 54 730 C1, FIG. 3 discloses a vehicle seatwith an integrated headrest, in particular for a vehicle which is to bedriven in an open state. A blower and a heat exchanger via, which heatsthe air that is sucked in by the blower, are arranged behind the rearwall of the passenger compartment. A plurality of nozzles, whose nozzlestems which end at the rear of the backrest and are connected to an airline leading to the heat exchanger and blower, are arranged spaced apartfrom one another in the horizontal direction in the nape area of thebackrest. The air which is sucked in by the blower is heated in the heatexchanger and fed via the air line to the nozzles where it is blown outinto the nape and head area of the seat occupant.

One object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle seat of thetype described above with a small-volume device which can be integratedsatisfactorily for heating the nape and head area of the seat occupantwith warm air.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which isefficient and which does not disrupt the esthetics of the vehicle seatand of the passenger compartment.

These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the vehicle seataccording to the invention, which has the advantage that all of thenecessary components for generating warm air are contained in the airvent which is located in the intermediate space between the backrest andhead cushion of the headrest. Efficient conversion of energy is ensuredby the direct electrical heating of the air which passes through the airvent. In order to apply warm air to the nape and head area of the seatoccupant it is generally sufficient to provide just the electric heatingunit, which is preferably an electric heating coil, in the air vent,because of the back flow of air which is always present and which occursto a greater degree when a vehicle is driven with an open passengercompartment. As a result of this back flow, a sufficient quantity of airalways passes through the air vent and is heated by the heating unit. Inaddition, according to one advantageous embodiment of the invention itis possible to integrate a blower into the air vent, which blower ispreferably embodied as a miniature fan. With this structuralconfiguration of the air vent it is advantageously possible to use knownhairdryer technology.

In addition to the fact that the heating device which is reduced to theair vent is inconspicuously installed in the vehicle seat, additionalair ducts in or behind the backrest and additional assemblies for theblower and heating unit in or behind the backrest are dispensed with. Byeliminating additional components in the backrest the seating pressurecomfort is improved and the upholstery of the backrest can be madesimpler.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the air ventis arranged on the supporting bracket of the headrest or on theunderside of the head cushion. This arrangement allows the heatingdevice for the nape and head area of the seat occupant to beretrofitted, and permits the device to be provided as an accessory whichis not specific to the vehicle or manufacturer. If the vehicle has arollover bar that is assigned to the vehicle seat, the air vent can alsobe attached to the rollover bar as a retrofittable accessory.

According to another advantageous embodiment, the air vent is providedwith a panel which covers the remaining intermediate space between thebackrest and head cushion and preferably engages over both the rear ofthe backrest and the rear of the head cushion. As a result, cold airflows which pass by the air vent into the nape and head area of the seatoccupant are screened off.

According to still another advantageous embodiment of the invention, theair vent is pivotable about a vertical and/or horizontal pivot axis,making it possible to vary the outflow direction of the warm air stream.

The air vent can be pivoted about three orthogonal axes if the housingof the air vent is of spherical design and is accommodated in adisplaceable fashion in two spatially secured spherical shells. Thespherical shells can be attached to the supporting bracket or, whenthere is a backrest with an integrated headrest, they can be attached inthe backrest itself.

The vehicle seat according to the invention may be a driver's seat,passenger's seat or a rear seat or rear bench seat. In the latter case,each seating place on the rear bench seat is assigned a heating devicefor the nape and head area of a seat occupant occupying the seatingplace.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle seat with a backrest, integratedheadrest and a heating device (illustrated in section) for the nape andhead area of a seat occupant;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the backrest in FIG. 1 with amodified heating device;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a vehicle seat with a backrest and headrest,and a heating device which is attached to the headrest, for the nape andhead area of a seat occupant according to a further exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of a plan view in the direction of the arrow IV inFIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a rear seat with the heating device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in the side view of FIG. 1, the vehicle seat has a backrest 11,a vertically adjustable headrest 12 and a device 13 for heating the napeand head area of a seat occupant, located on the vehicle seat. Thebackrest 11 is embodied as what is referred to as an integratedbackrest, with a backrest extension 14, formed in one piece with thebackrest 11, which extends upward behind the headrest 12. The verticallyadjustable headrest 12 has, in a known fashion, a supporting bracket 15which is held in a vertically adjustable and lockable fashion in thebackrest 11, and a head cushion 16 which is attached to the supportingbracket 15.

The heating device 13 comprises an air vent 17 with a housing 18 havingan air inlet opening 19 and (lying opposite in the axial direction) anair outlet opening 20, an electric heating unit 21 and a fan or a blower22. The electric heating unit 21 and the blower 22 are integrated in theair vent 17. In the exemplary embodiment, the electric heating unit 21is an electric heating coil 23, and the blower 22 is a miniature fan 24.Both are secured in the housing 18 of the air vent 17 in such a way thatthey lie one behind the other in the axial direction of the housing 18.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the heating coil 23 is arrangeddownstream of the miniature fan 24 in the direction of air flow, but, asshown in FIG. 2, the heating coil 23 can also be arranged upstream ofthe miniature fan 24. Instead of the heating coil it is also possible touse a PCT heating element. The air vent 17 is inserted into the backrestextension 14 in such a way that it lies between the upper side of thebackrest 11 and the underside of the head cushion 16 and points forwardwith its air outlet opening 20, toward the nape and head area of theseat occupant.

The heating device 13 in FIG. 2 is modified such that the housing 18 isof spherical design and is accommodated in a displaceable fashionbetween two spherical shells 25, 26 which are integrated in the backrestextension 14. As a result, the air vent 17 can be pivoted about threeorthogonal axes so that the air outlet opening 20 can be rotated in anydesired direction. Miniature fans 24 and heating coils 23 are alsoarranged here in the housing 18 of the air vent 17, and only thesequence of arrangement of the heating coil 23 and the miniature fan 24in the air stream is interchanged compared to the air vent 17 in FIG. 1.

In the vehicle seat illustrated in a side view in FIG. 3 (in which it ispossible to see the backrest 11, headrest 12 and heating device 13) theair vent 17, in which the electric heating device 21 and the blower 22are also integrated (FIG. 4), is attached to the supporting bracket 15of the headrest 12. The supporting bracket 15 has two parallel bracketbars 151, 152 and a transverse part which connects the bracket bars 151,152 and to which the head cushion 16 is attached. The bracket bars 151,152 are vertically adjustable in the backrest 11 in a known fashion andare held in a lockable fashion. To the side of the housing 18 of the airvent 17, two clips 27, 28 are provided and these each engage around abracket bar 151 or 152 of the supporting bracket 15. If in each case arotating joint is provided between the clips 27, 28 and the housing 18,the air vent 17 can be pivoted about a pivot axis 29 (FIG. 4) whichextends parallel to the upper side of the backrest. If a ball joint isused, the air outlet opening 20 can be pivoted in any desired direction.

A panel 30 formed on the housing 18 of the air vent 17 covers theintermediate space that is between the two bracket bars 151, 152 of theheadrest 12 and remains between the upper side of the backrest 11 andthe underside of the head cushion 16, and is not covered by the air vent17. The panel 30, which screens the nape and head area of the seatoccupant against cold air flows from behind, engages in each case overthe rear side of the backrest 11 and head cushion 16 so that theintermediate space is covered at each setting of the headrest. Of courseit is possible to embody the panel 30 also in such a way that itprojects beyond the two bracket bars 151, 152 in the transversedirection of the vehicle seat. However, the width of the panel 30 (whichcan be seen in FIG. 4) has the advantage that the panel 30 does notimpede the driver's view to the rear.

The air vent according to FIGS. 3 and 4 which can be retrofitted as aseparate accessory can alternatively also be attached to the undersideof the head cushion. Rubber bands or touch and close fasteners can beused to attach it. If the vehicle has a roll bar which is assigned tothe vehicle seat, the roll bar can be used as a method of attachment forthe air vent, since it is arranged near to the backrest and also extendsbeyond the intermediate space between the upper edge of the backrest andthe head cushion of the headrest.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of a rear seat which, like the driver'sseat or front passenger's seat illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, has a seatcushion 31, a backrest 11 and a headrest 12 as well as a heating device13 for heating the nape and head area of a seat occupant with warm air.The seat cushion 31 is secured to the floor 27 of the vehicle and thebackrest 11 is arranged on a rear wall 32 which bounds the passengercompartment of the vehicle to the rear and which extends inclined withrespect to the vertical at an acute angle and merges above the backrest11 with an approximately horizontal cover 33, also referred to as aparcel shelf. While the backrest 11 is detachably attached to the rearwall 32, the headrest 12 is secured behind the rear wall 32 andunderneath the cover 33. The headrest 12 in turn has a head cushion 16which is attached to a supporting bracket 15. As in the vehicle seatsaccording to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is also an intermediate space betweenthe upper side of the backrest 11 and the underside of the head cushion16 in the case of the rear seat. Within this intermediate space, acutout 34, into which the air vent 17 is inserted, is provided in therear wall 32. The air vent 17 is embodied like the air vent 17 in FIG. 1or 2. That is, it has a housing 18 with an integrated electric heatingunit 21 and integrated blower 22. The air outlet opening 20 pointsforward into the nape and head area of the seat occupant, while the airinlet opening 19 lies outside the passenger compartment, in the trunkbehind the rear wall 32. Flat belts 35, 36, by which the air vent 17 isattached to the rear wall 32, extend from the housing 18. If the airvent 17 is embodied as shown in FIG. 2, the two spherical shells whichaccommodate the housing 18 are secured in the rear wall 32.

The invention is not restricted to the described exemplary embodiment.For example, the blower 22 may be dispensed with in the heating device13 and it is possible merely to arrange the electric heating unit 21 inthe housing 18 of the air vent 17. This is sufficient in many casessince a back flow of the air is always present at the backrest 11, as aresult of which a sufficiently large quantity of air flows through theair vent 17 and is heated by the heating unit 21. The effect of thebackflow of air is also increased when the vehicle travels with an openpassenger cell so that in this case a significantly larger warm airstream reaches the nape and head area of the seat occupant as desired.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate theinvention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of thedisclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of theinvention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention shouldbe construed to include everything within the scope of the appendedclaims and equivalents thereof.

1. A vehicle seat comprising: a backrest having a backrest extensionextending upwardly therefrom; a vertically adjustable headrestoperatively associated with the backrest and having a head cushionadjacent the backrest extension with a vertical separation from thebackrest to define an intermediate space therebetween; and a warmingdevice for warming the nape and head area of a seat occupant with warmair; wherein, the warming device comprises an electric heating unit andan air vent which is arranged in the backrest extension in theintermediate space between the backrest and head cushion and has ahousing with an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening at theintermediate space, which air opening points toward the nape and headarea of the seat occupant, and an air outlet opening lying opposite saidair inlet opening; and the electric heating unit is integrated in theair vent.
 2. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein theelectric heating unit is arranged between the air inlet opening and airoutlet opening, and has at least one electric heating coil or a PCTheating element.
 3. The vehicle seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein ablower is integrated into the air vent.
 4. The vehicle seat as claimedin claim 3, wherein the blower is arranged between the air inlet openingand air outlet opening on one side of the electric heating unit.